One extinction leads to another...and another

Japan declares its river otter extinct (08/28/2012) Japan's Ministry of the Environment today declared the Japanese river otter (Lutra lutra whiteleyi) extinct. Last seen in 1979 in the city of Susaki on the island of Shikoku, the unique subspecies was killed-off by overhunting and loss of habitat due to development. North American freshwater fish going extinct at rate over 800 times the fossil record (08/14/2012) Since 1898 North America has lost at least 39 species of freshwater fish, according to a new study in Bioscience , and an additional 18 subspecies. Moreover, the loss of freshwater fish on the continent seems to be increasing, as the rate jumped by 25 percent since 1989, though even this data may be low. Climate change may be worsening impacts of killer frog disease (08/13/2012) Climate change, which is spawning more extreme temperatures variations worldwide, may...